APIs: A Better Alternative to Page Objects

Eileen XieHead of Quality at PBworks

#sfse 8/23/11

Page Objects

What are they trying to solve?

What are they trying to solve?

• repetition

• maintenance

• readability

How well do they solve them?

How well do they solve them?

• repetition: poorly

• maintenance: poorly

• readability: poorly

Repetition

Repetition

• still too many steps

• some steps repeated over and overhomePage = HomePage.load();loginPage = homePage.getLoginLink().click();welcomePage = loginPage.login();newTaskPage = welcomePage.getNewTaskLink().click();newTaskPage.getTaskNameField().type(“Learn Selenium”);

Maintenance

Maintenance

• huge overhead

• QA needs to maintain and fix

• still dependent on page workflow

• still dependent on page structure/layout

Readability

Readability

• see repetition

What can we do instead?

What can we do instead?

• APIs!

APIs

What do they look like?

createNetwork();

createNetworkWorkspace();

addNetworkUser();

What do they look like?

What do they look like under the hood?

What do they look like under the hood?

function createNetworkFolder(name) {curl(“http://pbworks.com/api_v2/op/CreateNetworkFolder/name/” + name);

}

What?

• Where’s all the code?

• Why would we do this?

• How do the API calls get tested?

• How do we start?

• Wait a minute...

Where’s all the code?

Where’s all the code?

• in the product!

• really.

Why would we do this?

Why would we do this?

• less repetition

• makes tests clearer

• maintained by developers

• easier to read

• makes software more testable

• test execution speed

• better than straight SQL insertions

How do the API calls get tested?

How do the API calls get tested?

• separate tests!

• one test does the API stuff through the UIdashboardPage.getNewTaskLink().click();newTaskPage.getTaskNameField().type(“Learn Selenium”);newTaskPage.getTaskDueDateField().type(“8/31/11”);

• every other test calls the APIcreateTask();

How do we start?

How do we start?

• figure out what the functions are

• talk to your devs!

• start with new functionality

• greenfield projects

Wait a minute...

Wait a minute...

• requires a ton of cooperation from devs

• huge upfront cost

• doesn’t actually replace page objects

Summary

• APIs are awesome

• ...and a pain in the ass to start using

• complimentary to page objects

More Info

• Our API: http://secure.pbworks.com/api_v2/

• Me: eileen.xie@pbworks.com